This ruling affects all dentists and the purpose of this ruling is to reduce the amount of mercury that ends up in the sewer system. The EPA has stated that this new ruling will cut mercury discharge by 5.1 tons. Mercury is not the only element that is in amalgam as there are several other harmful metals and the EPA predicts that the regulations will help reduce the waste of these additional metals by 5.3 tons.

Gary L. Roberts, the president of the American Dental Association stated that he agrees with the new ruling and that the new ruling is better than having regulations that can vary from state to state, which was the case, prior to July 14, 2017.

The Important Dates

The EPA set this final ruling regarding amalgam removal products on July 14, 2017. The compliance date for existing practices to install an amalgam separator is July 14, 2020. The compliance date is the time when dentists will have to adhere to these standards. Dentists who do not adhere to these standards may be fined.